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The State of Qatar participated in the 17th meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Council of Arab Health Ministers, in preparation for the 63rd regular session of the Council of Arab Health Ministers and its Executive Office, scheduled to be held during the period of Dec. 17-18.Qatar's delegation was headed by First Secretary at the Permanent Delegation of Qatar to the League of Arab States Ali Hussein Al Jarhab.The meeting agenda included several important health topics, foremost among them supporting the health sector in the State of Palestine, the successful and pioneering experiences of the Arab member states in the health fields, the follow up on developments regarding Arab strategies concerned with benefiting from the Arab health competencies of migrants in support of the health sectors in the Arab region 2026-2030, developing primary health care and family medicine 2026-2030, and making public health services available in the context of asylum and displacement in the Arab region.The meeting also addressed reports from various bodies of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health, namely: the Arab Authority for Blood Transfusion Services, the Arab Board of Health Specializations, and the Arab Center for Authorship and Translation of Health Science. It also followed up on the resolution issued by the Arab League Summit regarding investment in health human resources, and the resolution issued by the Arab League's Economic and Social Council regarding promoting the right to family planning in Arab countries, and analyzing the challenges and opportunities associated with declining fertility rates.The meeting addressed the unified statement of the Council of Arab Health Ministers before the 79th session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 2026, which is scheduled to be delivered by the Minister of Health of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in addition to the first Arab Ministerial Forum for Health and Environment, the establishment of a regional Arab center for applied epidemiology, the follow-up on the work of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction, the unification of Arab efforts to combat drugs, in addition to discussing financial matters related to the Arab Health Development Fund.The committee is scheduled to submit its recommendations on the topics on its agenda to the Executive Office, and then to the 63rd regular session of the Health Ministers' Council, to take the necessary decisions regarding them.

Hundreds killed in Sweida bloodshed in JulySuspects filmed several killingsSome later confessed, committee saysDruze deaths spark calls for justiceSyria has interrogated and detained members of its defence and interior ministries suspected of committing abuses against civilians in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida in July, the committee investigating the violence has said.Hundreds of people were killed in Sweida in violence that began between tribes and Druze factions but which worsened after Syrian troops were dispatched to the area. Bereaved relatives accused government forces of committing execution-style killings on camera.Syria appointed a committee to investigate the violence on July 31. Its spokesperson Ammar Izzedin told Syrian and regional media outlets on Tuesday night that members of both the interior and defence ministries had been questioned and referred to the judiciary over their suspected involvement in abuses.Izzedin declined to say how many personnel were detained, but said they were Syrian nationals who carried out the atrocities in an individual capacity.He told regional broadcaster Al-Hadath the committee had confronted the suspects with "the video footage in which they were seen" committing abuses without specifying what they were.Izzedin said the footage was "enough" as evidence since the fighters had filmed themselves, but that several had also confessed to committing the abuses after being shown the videos."They were detained by the interior and defence ministries to be transferred to the judiciary when the investigations are concluded to be publicly tried for the crimes they committed against Syrians," Izzedin said.He told local outlet Syria TV that the committee was keen to act swiftly to arrest the suspects even as it continued its investigative work. He did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for additional comment.Amnesty International urged Syrian authorities on Tuesday to hold members of government forces accountable for extrajudicial executions of Druze men and women on July 15 and 16 in Sweida.In March, Syria's military was accused of mass killings of members of the Alawite minority, to which much of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ruling elite belonged.A Syrian government fact-finding committee said in July that 1,426 people had died in March in attacks on security forces and subsequent mass killings of Alawites, but concluded that commanders had not given orders for the revenge attacks.It said 298 suspects were linked to violations against Alawites and 265 involved in the initial attack on security forces, and said they had been referred to the judiciary.